(This is the first part of my India entry. I wrote it a while ago, but I am posting it now to give myself the impetus I need to finish it!) One day, while wandering around Wororot market in Chiang Mai, I came across an Indian import store. I was drawn in by the vibrant colors, sparkly bangles, and a beautiful, mirrored, patchwork wall hanging. I remember admiring the brilliant topaz, turquoise, and vermillion and thinking, "this is what India is going to be li...

Dear faithful readers, Serendipity has left me with a few hours to kill, in a place with no internet, so I am taking this opportunity to wrap up my sorely neglected travel blog. First, I will finish Nepal, before giving you a glimpse into the tapestry that was India. I believe I left you on the mountain, waiting desperately to be clean. I woke up to a new year, well, the Nepali New Year anyway. After a brief stop at the famous Everest View Hotel, Kamal and I ...

It all started with a story about a yak and an outhouse... Ever since I was little, I remember hearing random stories about my dad's Nepal experience with the Peace Corps. Some of them were interesting, some hilarious, and all a bit crazy, but they inspired me to follow in his footsteps and see if and how the country had changed in the thirty years between the father and daughter visit. So, armed with nothing but stories, the Nepali words for "I'm full" and "Wha...

Love at First Bite: A delicious yet dangerous new bakery find, and, I thought, the perfect name for my long-overdue update on life in Chiang Mai. Every day is not all glitz and glamour. I am not just a traveler with an open agenda this time; I am actually going about real life here. My alarm goes off at 5:55am sharp…and then again at 6:02. Then the really annoying one from across the room begins to shrill at 6:10, informing me that is really IS time to get ...

See, the trouble with keeping an exciting adventure journal is that you have to stop having amazing adventures long enough to write about all the ones you have been experiencing! Clearly, I am having difficulties with this. Last time I wrote I was fresh off the bus from Vientienne, rosy-cheeked and ready to move to my new apartment and start my job. Now, I have clothes strewn all over, snacks in the cupboard, ice tea in the fridge, cleaning supplies, and a bro...